The portraits, still lifes, landscapes, and everyday scenes in this catalogófrom a traveling exhibit of the Smithsonian American Art Museumóreveal the ideals and vision that shaped America as it evolved from a collection of British colonies into independent nationhood. "Looking through the eyes of American artists, we witness the beginning of America's noble experiment and, following through the Civil War, we see it being tested and coming of age," notes Museum director Elizabeth Broun. Created between the 1760s and the 1870s, these 54 paintings and sculptures reflect life in New England and the mid-Atlantic, with works by such artists as John Singleton Copley, Charles Willson Peale, Thomas Birch, Thomas Cole, Jasper Cropsey, Horatio Greenough, and Thomas LeClear.